“Hey, I’m on my way over.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you at the door.” Kelly Benson snapped her phone shut and made her way to the front door. As always, when Dean Williams called to tell her he was on his way, what he meant that he was already out of his car and walking towards her house. Sure enough, she opened the door to find him roughly ten feet away from her. She stepped aside to let her boyfriend inside.
“Hey,” he said, as he kicked of his sneakers haphazardly.
“Hi, how was work?” Kelly nudged one of his shoes out of the way so she could close the door.
“Same as it was yesterday and the day before. Sucked.”
“That’s too bad. Why don’t you find another job?”
“I’ve tried. Can’t find one.”
“Are you sure you’ve looked everywhere?”
“I just said I did. Now get off my back about it.” Dean unzipped his jacket and tossed it on the couch, his back to her.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t like to see you unhappy.” Kelly moved to put her arms around him.
“Whatever. Be right back. Gotta piss.” Before Kelly could touch him, he moved out of her reach and made his way to the bathroom. He didn’t even bother to close the door all the way. From where she stood by the couch, Kelly could hear him urinating. Her roommate Jenn peered out of her bedroom, a look of disgust on her face. She closed her bedroom door and soon music came from inside, drowning out the noise. Kelly sat and the couch and waited for him to come out.
When he had finished in the bathroom, Dean joined her on the couch. He put his arm around her shoulders then leaned in and kissed her deeply. Kelly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back eagerly. When his hand started to move down the front of her shirt, she pulled away. “Not on the couch. Jenn might see.”
Dean gave her a devilish grin. “So?”
Kelly looked away from him. She was a sucker for that grin. “This is her place too. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”
“Probably too late for that. Come on.” Dean stood up and took Kelly’s hand. He led her down the hall to her bedroom.
“Dean, I think maybe we should-”
Kelly was silenced by Dean’s mouth against hers. He pushed her up against the wall and his hands roamed her body freely. He toyed with the hem of her t-shirt before lifting it up over her head. When his mouth made its way down her neck, Kelly tried again. “Dean, I think this is a bad idea.”
Dean picked her up and set her down on the bed. He pulled off his shirt in one smooth motion, revealing a slim torso and well defined arms. “Why?”
Kelly looked at him. His blue eyes bored into her, cold and hard, made even more so by his black hair and thin, angular face. She glanced around her bedroom: various textbooks and half-done assignments scattered everywhere, clothes strewn about, a dim street light filtering through the window. She saw her face in the small mirror on her desk: her shoulder-length blonde hair messed, her dark brown eyes slightly dilated, her round face flushed. She watched in the mirror as Dean’s lips gently brushed her cheek. She looked back up at him.
“Never mind,” she said.
Dean flashed that devilish grin again. She smiled back. He leaned over and kissed her neck. Then he pulled the covers over both of them as he turned out the light.
“You awake?”
Kelly yawned. “Yeah.” She pulled more of the blankets around her and snuggled deeper into her bed. She was laying on her left side, her back to him.
Dean tugged some of the blankets back. “So, how was it?”
Kelly opened her eyes; she had started to doze off. “Hmm? How was what?”
“What do you think I’m talking about?”
“Oh, right.” Kelly stretched, then pulled the blanket back up to her shoulders. “It was good.”
“Good. I agree.” Dean lay on his back, hands behind his head, smiling to himself.
Kelly rolled over and put her head on his shoulder and draped her arm across his chest. His hand absently slipped to her bare shoulder.
“Your skin’s a bit dry,” he said.
Kellie squirmed where she lay. “The air’s been a bit dry lately.”
Dean grunted. “You should put some lotion on.”
“I will.”
They lay in silence for quite awhile, neither having anything to say. Finally, Kelly was elbowed awake by Dean, who said, “You fell asleep.”
Kelly rubbed her eyes. “So?”
“So, I was bored.” Dean started to kiss her shoulder as his hand wandered over her figure.
Kelly glanced at the digital clock by her bad. It was past midnight. She groaned. “It’s late. I have an early class tomorrow.”
His kisses wandered up her shoulder and along her neck. “Skip it.”
Kelly wriggled across the bed away from him. “No.”
“Have you even skipped a single class yet?”
“No, and I’m not about to start.”
Dean scoffed. “Missing one class won’t hurt you.”
“Maybe not, but one class leads to another and another and before you know it, your grades start slipping. I’d rather not flunk out.”
Dean stared at her, not moving. Then he got out of bed and started to dress without saying a word.
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Kelly crawled out of bed and wrapped a blanket around herself. Dean turned his back to her.
“Dean, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” She tried to put her arms around him, to placate him, but he pushed her away. She hurried to get dressed as he marched out of the room. She was still pulling her shirt over her head as she stumbled after him. Before she could catch up he had grabbed his jacket and left, slamming the door behind him.
Kelly stood alone in the living room, her clothes rumpled from her hurried dressing. Slowly, she turned and made her way to her bedroom. She stared at the dishevelled bed for a moment before crawling into it. She rested her head on the pillow and inhaled deeply, smelling both their scents mixed together. Soon her tears were blending with those scents. Still crying softly, she got out of bed and ripped the pillowcase off of the pillow. The sheets followed. She stretched out on the bare mattress, with only the blanket she had wrapped around herself to keep her warm, and fell into a restless sleep.
